2018-19 Solar Car Challenge Blog

Chassis Design: Prototype 2

Our new chassis design has taken a major shift in its compatibility with other parts and its aerodynamics. We have changed our chassis to be thinner to accommodate the change in the width of a human sitting down. At the bottom of the chassis, the inner width is 22 inches and its upper width is 25 inches. These dimensions were determined by looking at the size of our average driver and added 2 inches of space on the sides to make sure the driver doesn’t feel crushed.

The chassis render can be seen above with the slanted width seen at the bottom left of the drawing.

In respect to connections with other parts of the car, such as the suspension, roll cage, or battery mounting system, we have added parts of the chassis to be able to make the best connection to the part.

Image of the chassis attachment with the forward suspension.

The attachment includes a 30-degree angle between the vertical components of the chassis with the plate that connects with the suspension to best use the forward steering. The suspension is connected to a large bearing that connects the chassis’s plate with the top suspension plate with many connection points.

Image of the rear suspension connecting to the chassis.

As you can see above, the chassis has a rear bar instead of the thicker section we had on our earlier draft of the chassis. This bar is intended to be a stronger connection to the rear suspension assemblies while also significantly reducing the drag associated with our earlier design. While the connection between the rear suspension and the chassis isn’t as intricate as the one for the forward steering, the connection is fixed and will be bolted to the rear square tubing bar.

Side note: we are currently considering making the rear suspension slide up and down to accommodate the height of the car to lower our center of gravity.